The National Museum of Finland asked us to create an innovative exhibition for their reopening, one that would reset perceptions of what a cultural historical museum can be, surprising and delighting visitors while retaining curatorial rigour and narrative clarity.
We created an engaging, narrative-driven concept that delivered against the organisational goals for this £2.2m, 1180 square metres project. This was a challenging brief, with over 600 objects, high ambitions and a low budget. It necessitated devising narratives that delicately explored cultural historical object stories, some with community or cultural sensitivities around interpretation and narrative.
The design was built around the concept of a sentient universe that is aware of the visitor and of its own existence. Objects were framed as eye-witnesses to the story, helping the visitor untangle the mystery of the nature of the universe. Digital was used with purpose rather than for spectacle; to give the universe a presence, to breathe life into objects, and to provide an opportunity for one-to-one dialogue with the unknown. The concept brought drama and shape to this intriguing narrative, building suspense and creating a sense of intimacy between visitors and the unseen that surrounds us.
I was creative lead, client lead and content lead, workshopping strategic outcomes, narrative approach and collections strategy, and delivering audience strategy, tone of voice strategy, narrative structure and interpretive outcomes, working on the project from concept through to the end of detail design.
Image Event Communication/ Museum Studio
